Iran and Iraq are two of only a handful of countries that have more Shias than Sunnis. While it is widely assumed that Iraq has a Shia majority, there is little reliable data on the exact Sunni-Shia breakdown of the population there, particularly since refugees arriving in Iraq due to the conflict in Syria or leaving Iraq due to its own turmoil may have affected the composition of Iraq’s population.

The few available survey measures of religious identity in Iraq suggest that about half the country is Shia. Surveys by ABC News found between 47% and 51% of the country identifying as Shia between 2007 and 2009, and a Pew Research survey conducted in Iraq in late 2011 found that 51% of Iraqi Muslims said they were Shia (compared with 42% saying they were Sunni).

Neighboring Iran is home to the world’s largest Shia population: Between 90% and 95% of Iranian Muslims (66-70 million people) were Shias in 2009, according to our estimate from that year.

Iran also has supported Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria, where only 15-20% of the Muslim population was Shia as of 2009. But the Syrian leadership is dominated by Alawites (an offshoot of Shia Islam). Under Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, which was dominated by Sunnis, the country clashed with Iran.

The Sunni-Shia divide is nearly 1,400 years old, dating back to a dispute over the succession of leadership in the Muslim community following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632.

Despite periods of open conflict between Sunnis and Shias in countries such as Lebanon and Iraq, the two groups are not all that different in terms of religious beliefs and commitment. In Iraq, for example, both groups express virtually universal belief in God and the Prophet Muhammad, and similar percentages (82% of Shias and 83% of Sunnis) say religion is very important in their lives. More than nine-in-ten Iraqi Shias (93%) and Sunnis (96%) say they fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

In some countries, significant shares of Muslims don’t even see the distinction between Sunni and Shia Islam as relevant. A survey of Muslims in 39 countries that we conducted in 2011 and 2012 found, for example, that 74% of Muslims in Kazakhstan and 56% of Muslims in Indonesia identified themselves as neither Sunni nor Shia, but “just a Muslim.” In Iraq, however, only 5% answered “just a Muslim.”

38 Comments

There are by fact more sunni muslims than shia muslims. this article givies away basic informatino by was by fact help with my research on shian and sunni muslim conflict.thank you to the makers of this webset your resources are very helpful.

There are by fact more sunni muslims than shia muslims. this article givies away basic informatino by was by fact help with my research on shian and sunni muslim conflict.thank you to the makers of this webset your resources are very helpful.

No, not only because religion, Because religion/politics/economics/et al is a good excuse for some who want/need/crave power/recognition to make themselves visible and to hell with (quite literally in this case) everyone else. Here have a link for more details about it : bit.ly/1Fk9AQi

Islam is not a religion but it is deen. There is no proper word for deen in English language. Little bit similar word is state. It can b defined by saying ” set of principles which covers all aspects of life. Like religion culture politics economy state law rights and responsibilities etc.
Deen can be Islam or other.

The map and statistics published here are not very accurate and should be taken with a grain of salt. Pew Research should look into the United Nations Oil-For-Food Program profiles, which has a more reliable and reflective numbers for the population cohorts in Iraq.

why do people even care if you are muslim in their mind or not. If you are following the law, public law or religious law, thou shalt not kill or killing is a crime, then there is no problem keeping a peaceful respect for each other. this is simply malicious intend to control others. Don’t you think that controlling your own behaviour is plenty of work. get with the program everyone. Sunni,Shia it doesn’t matter, show some respect and honour the god you say you follow and live in peace. evil people, possessed by their own ego are the problem, not faithful servants of god, they would not even let this kind of thought cross their mind. my heart goes out to the innocent, may those behind the evil fail to hold on to their masks and abe revealed and stopped. create peace and let everyone live in peace.

this is the clash of civilisations we are talking about. The answer seems so simple to people in the west because their basic morality comes from a christian background “love thy enemy” “do unto others as they would have done unto you” etc. It also comes from a history of the separation of church and state, which has allowed for fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association etc.

Islam is not like that. It has operated as a theocratic ideology, there is no separation of powers, with religious infractions such as simply choosing leaving the faith punishable by death – even in muslim communities in western democratic countries this is upheld. It is a highly controlled form of social order, comparable to supremacism. There is not really freedom of religion in muslim countries, for instance, one would never be permitted to build a church or a synagog in the United Arab Emirates. Under Islam it is believed that Islam will be a religion of peace when the world is one Umma; meaning all non believers are either killed (extremists method), or converted (moderates method).

We need to support ex muslims and hear the truth from them. And as much as I hate to admit it, we need to come to grips with the fact that not everyone in the world has the same basic values when their mind is clouded by indoctrination.

Thanks for your comment, and for raising this observation. The range of 65-70% Shia in Iraq was our best estimate at the time of that report in 2009, based on limited available data. Since then, we’ve conducted our own 2011 survey in Iraq, which found that about half of Iraqis identify as Shia (similar to multiple ABC News polls).

The graph is misleading in that the dark green space representing “percent of the Muslim population which is Shia” for Iraq and Lebanon is significantly larger than the 45-55% which the text mentions. Please fix that, or I’ll have to put PEW on my watch-for-bias list. Your using “ISIS” instead of “ISIL” already sets off one small warning whistle.

This article should be titled “Some questionable statistics about religious divide in the Middle East”. There is no data reflated to the differing belief systems that would help readers understand why these two groups are so amped to kill each other.

The distinction between Shia and Sunni has more to do with power politics than with beliefs. Both believe in one GOD, both read the same Quran, have (more or less) same religious practices and observe same rituals. It is the dirty game of power politics which creates sects, such as Mahayan and Hinayan in Buddhism, Sanatan dharma and Sai bhakts among hindus, Protestants and Catholics among Christians… and the list goes on- with one thing in common- the struggle for supremacy, for estabilishing hegemony..

The facts and figures given above notwithstanding, we cannot ignore the fact that Sunnis and Shias have not been at war for 1400 years. Not particularly so in the region the author pick to report about. Just in the recent past, Iraq was a peaceful country until the US came with pumped up lies of there being dangerous weapons of mass destruction and hence a panacea to call in ‘the Empire’ as Perkins calls it in the Secret History of the United States, to topple the regime and set the country to war. When will the US authorities and Media ever get a sense of shame? You started it all and now you are blaming it on the Sunni/Shia divide? Who supplies the guns and other tools of violence except you guys! You who wont have market for your capitalist violence mongering weapons, except when there is war? By all definitions you are the greatest war mongers across the globe.You (the US authorities and press) are guilty of not only concocting lies but also of spreading the same lies by pushing them into our bedrooms and all over. Come to think about all this and put it into perspective before you spread this negativity about the Muslim world.

Indeed Islam is a religion of peace, but Muslims are not living in an Island. Individual entities like you the US and the Press are there to make sure Muslims never settle for peace. You are sponsoring the Arab spring, you are taking control of world resources and destabilizing world economies and populations all in the name of spreading democracy which you want us believe is the best form of governance! Until you revise your foreign policy in the Muslim world, the innocent people in this part of the world shall continue suffering at the pleasure of your getting us the statistics you call collateral damage!

I pray someone up there wakes up from the stupor and see how much violence the US and the press have subjected to the world and say, enough is enough, guys lets stop it! then peace shall prevail in the world.

Check the facts. The territory of Iraq has been in turmoil far before the United States set foot there. Ottoman Empire to present day has been filled with death, genocide and in-fighting. Becoming a leader in this area is a death sentence.

Sorry, but I didn’t find any info there about any strong items of belief that separates the Sunni’s and Shia’s. All that I see is confirmation of my long-held tenet that religion is the most divisive force in the world! What a disgusting shame, since it is all nothing but mythology!!

Regardless of sect, the entire Islamic world shares this one common and easily recognizable characteristic: The “Religion of Peace and Love” does not get along with anybody. Not with themselves, not with Indian Hindus, not with communist Chinese or Russians, not with Jews, not with Sub Saharan Christians, not with European socialists, and certainly not with capitalistic Americans.

Disturbingly, the long history of Islam is one involving very bloody borders with all of its neighbors. Would that such were not true. Res ipsa loquitur

Your point seems rather obvious. But on further inspection, it is fairly shallow.

Atheist governments in Germany, Italy, the Soviet Union, China, Cambodia, and North Korea found plenty of reasons to start war. Russia’s current incitement of fighting in the Ukraine has no direct link to religion. Studies show that even the most simple human societies, with or without religion, engaged in warfare. War seems to be endemic to the human race.

Notwithstanding, your comment is correct in that many evil political movements have often worn the sheep’s clothing of religion. In fact, certain religious practices themselves may be generators of war and other manner of horrors. And, perhaps more to your point, the middle east conflicts seem, at times, to be fueled exclusively by religion.

Resources, the true source of all wars:-) Religion is an ideology used to harnass enough people to fight wars for resources. Nowadays the belief that consensus science backed by huge capital is always correct, have replaced traditional religions in the west. Mass Media is the new religious script and media moguls the new popes. Money is the holy spirit and the 1% are the new gods. Very much like Roman polytheism:-)

America has individualistic values but some people in the West think that muslims are not included. Most people compare muslim extremist in the East to muslims in the west. Some would even accuse a baby for being an extremist.

Whereas America just gets along fine with everyone, eh? It hasn’t been starting wars all over the world for over a century, or toppling democratic governments and installing dictators, or funding and arming dictators.

This article seems unaware of the modern origins of the Sunni Shia split. The Sunni’s and Shia’s have lived in peace in Iraq for the 60 years before they were invaded in 2003. If you remember the “playing cards” that the US distributed to our troops in 2005 with faces of the “bad guys” in place of the Ace, Jack etc………… Well 35 of 52 of those faces were Shia. Saddam had a high representation of Shia officers in his army and throughout Iraqi industry.
Our forces split the Shia, Kurd, and Sunni into separate militia’s and armed each. That is the current start of Iraq’s clan warfare. Our Idiots did this because its easier to have the insurgents kill each other than kill US GIs. Pure pragmatism. The fact that we had no business in Iraq to begin with is lost on our Michael Lipka corporate media. Where do they find these guys?
Mike Shuster should know better than to write this nonsense. Modern Iraq is not explained in this article. A functioning central government (like Iraq’s for the 40 years prior to US arms support to Saddam in the 80’s), provided jobs, education, electricity, and health care to nearly all Iraq’s population. People on the rise don’t need sectarian differences, just as the differences between immigrants in the US largely disappeared when they become a busy middle class.
The real terror is US foreign policy. Our leaders and media don’t even notice when the enemy has won the war. Formerly US armed Taliban (in the 80’s) run Afghanistan, and parts Pakistan. The destroyed central govt. of Iraq left a vacuum where the US hating crazies from all over the Middle East (including a weak Maliki) compete for power.
Our leaders are nuts. Bipartisan nuts! Living under Saddam was a dream compared to living under these US backed drug lords and proxies.

At this time, it seems that the USA should stay totally out of the middle east situation. History should always be our teacher. History proves that it was an unnecessary sacrifice of our people from the first time we got involved. The perceived goals at the time were not achieved. Further, by staying out of the conflict, they will substantially reduce the numbers on both sides which share terrorists philosophies. Staying out of their conflict will result in fewer terrorists to go after Americans and other perceived non-Muslims.

it is not wrong to intervene to crush isis by the usa and western nations as not doing anything will come to their feet as we hindus say.this means that these jihadist only want their superioty to anything else.they will not spare shias and moderate sunnis so what are we from other religions who describe as infidels

I surprise when I see on TV or on Websites terrorized Hindus from ISIS actually India is far away I do not see any fear from ISIS in the Sunnis living south ward Iraq in the Sunni Arab world or north ward Sunni Turks living in the Sunni Turk world because everyone knows that it is not possible for the ISIS to win over the huge Shia population (Babulian Arab Shia, Iranian Persian Shia and Azerbaijani Turk Shia ) living just east to ISIS, actually they have only sprung their leg in the Sunni majority Areas of Assyria and Syria where they have local support, ISIS has not won a single inch land of Shia populated areas, only there is the possibility they may over throw Bashar Assad with the help of local Sunnis ,then they will be in direct contact with Israel and any danger to Israel will not be tolerated by the West and USA a carpet bombing will melt down them completely, Actually it looks that State department policy makers just want to give them time that they at least topple down the Assad then they will be bombed and any secular government shall be installed in the Syria, but it looks inhuman acts of ISIS will bring US and west prematurely to do the carpet bombing over ISIS, let us see what happens.

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.